If you were to find a vacation rental in Tuscany and decide to spend Christmas in Florence, you might find yourself coming face-to-face with the Italian love child of a French crepe and Mexican enchiladas; the Crespelle alla Fiorentina.
Usually served as a first course during a typical Florentine Christmas meal, this tasty dish is comprised of thin pancakes stuffed with ricotta and spinach, coated in béchamel sauce, tomato purée and cheese and baked until golden brown.
Legend actually states that these crepes were introduced to France by Catherine de' Medici and her Tuscan chefs, where they were adopted and altered according to French tastes, birthing both sweet and savoury varieties.
A serious comfort food, they can be found on family dinner tables all over Italy and in extremely traditional Tuscan trattorias and are a perfect winter warmer that you should try and get your hands on if you find a vacation rental in Florence and are in the area over the holidays. If you can't wait until then, why not try and make them at home first?
Ingredients:
Serves 4.
150g of flour
3 eggs
800ml of milk
100g of butter
3 tbsp of tomato passata
250g of ricotta
350g of spinach
Whole nutmeg, to grate
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. Blanch the spinach, drain, dry and chop finely.
2. Mix with the spinach with one egg, and ricotta in a big bowl and then grate in a little nutmeg, to taste.
3. Make the batter by mixing the flour, remaining eggs, 300ml of milk, 50g of melted butter, a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth and then leave to one side for thirty minutes to sit.
4. While the batter is waiting, make the sauce, which is akin to a bechamel. Take a medium sized saucepan and melt the remaining 50g of butter over a medium heat. Add the flour and then the remaining 500ml of milk slowly, bit by bit, making sure it doesn't clump. Once it has all been added, add salt, pepper, and some more nutmeg to taste. Cook over a medium to low heat for ten minutes, stirring the whole time.
5. Now use the batter to make around 8 crepes in a buttered frying pan.
6. Taking the filling mix, spoon a generous amount into the middle of each crepe and roll into tubes.
7. Butter a casserole dish, then add the stuffed crespelle and cover with the bechamel sauce. Spoon on the passata.
8. Bake at 120 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.
9. Enjoy and plan your trip to Florence!
A serious comfort food, they can be found on family dinner tables all over Italy and in extremely traditional Tuscan trattorias and are a perfect winter warmer that you should try and get your hands on if you find a vacation rental in Florence and are in the area over the holidays. If you can't wait until then, why not try and make them at home first?
Ingredients:
Serves 4.
150g of flour
3 eggs
800ml of milk
100g of butter
3 tbsp of tomato passata
250g of ricotta
350g of spinach
Whole nutmeg, to grate
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. Blanch the spinach, drain, dry and chop finely.
2. Mix with the spinach with one egg, and ricotta in a big bowl and then grate in a little nutmeg, to taste.
3. Make the batter by mixing the flour, remaining eggs, 300ml of milk, 50g of melted butter, a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth and then leave to one side for thirty minutes to sit.
4. While the batter is waiting, make the sauce, which is akin to a bechamel. Take a medium sized saucepan and melt the remaining 50g of butter over a medium heat. Add the flour and then the remaining 500ml of milk slowly, bit by bit, making sure it doesn't clump. Once it has all been added, add salt, pepper, and some more nutmeg to taste. Cook over a medium to low heat for ten minutes, stirring the whole time.
5. Now use the batter to make around 8 crepes in a buttered frying pan.
6. Taking the filling mix, spoon a generous amount into the middle of each crepe and roll into tubes.
7. Butter a casserole dish, then add the stuffed crespelle and cover with the bechamel sauce. Spoon on the passata.
8. Bake at 120 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.
9. Enjoy and plan your trip to Florence!
